The 2 Conspicuous Negatives Of Hinduism

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It goes without saying that no religion is perfect in its essence and dogmas. While certain doctrines expounded during the initial stages of every religion are questionable, certain religions, in the process of evolution, have invited considerable amount of flak. Religious beliefs inclined to a particular religion are the result of years of evolution and subsequent transformations. Speaking of hinduism in specific, although pure and comprehensive in its teaching, there are 2 fundamental negatives that can be cited. The negatives of hinduism are explained in this article.

There are basically 2 negatives of hinduism. The very fact that these two practices have been identified as blemishes to the religion have attracted a good deal of criticism from scholars and philosophers alike. Let us evaluate these two negatives of Hinduism.

The first:

The Caste System:

The caste system, because of its rigidity, was abolished in India in the year 1949. Although such is the case, the caste system remains to serve as a stigma, creating unprecedented disparity between people of the same fundamental belief.

The major limitation that exists is that because this disparity that is deeply rooted, successive generations get entangled in this intricate caste web. Right from the time of birth, people get caught up in this convoluted mess.

The Hindu Caste system is divided into four major categories- Brahmana, Vyshya, Khatriya and Shudra. Each of these categories performs a specific role in society, each contributing in their own way towards societal development. In this structure, while the role of Brahmins was to keep knowledge all to themselves, the function of the shudras was to perform manual labor. Being identified as the lowest strata of society, shudras were disrespected, often facing humiliation at the hands of the upper castes.

It didn't just stop there. Dalits, a class by themselves, were not even considered as part of the caste system. They were often forced to perform inhuman tasks like cleaning human excreta. Even till this date, there exists this class of slum dwellers who are coerced to perform such cruel tasks. So why do you think such practices are prevalent even till this day? Quite expectedly, it is due to the rigid system that prevails even till this day. Division on the basis of caste has eroded the respect for human dignity.

The Female Devaluation:

This is the next of the two negatives of hinduism. Even today, the status of a woman invites widespread societal discourse. Problems of child marriage and female infanticide are rampant even till this date. This widespread subjugation of women is seen to be the works of the Hindu caste system by many scholars. During the early days, the role of a women was to support her man and remain indoors. She wasn't exposed to education and there were several other serious limitations that disallowed development and uplifting of character. Even the SATI system, perhaps the most despicable system that plagued modern India, was an evil working of the Hindu caste system. All these occurrences have decimated the dignity of women. Till this date, in some of India's remotest villages, practices that are detrimental to humanity's very survival are widely in practice. Widows in some parts of India are coercively made to abstain from delectable food and wear the same type of clothes.

Its about time we ruminate what sort of a society we live in. A true religion is one that never compromises on the dignity of the individual.